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In macOS Mojave, Apple has introduced a screen capture interface that unifies the screenshot and screen recording features on Mac, making accessing them easier from one place.

A new floating palette brings the traditional Mac screen capture functions together under a single menu. You can access it by hitting Command-Shift-5. Let’s take a closer look at what’s on offer.

The three buttons to the left of the first menu divider provide you with options to take a screenshot of the entire screen, a selected window, or a selected portion of the screen.

Note that the keyboard shortcuts for these actions still function as before in macOS. Taking a screenshot is as easy as hitting Shift-Command-3 to capture the whole screen, or Shift-Command-4 to capture a portion of the screen using the mouse cursor as a crosshair selection tool (a tap of the spacebar also turns it into a camera for capturing windows).

Meanwhile, on the right of the palette’s first divider are two buttons to begin a screen recording – taking in the whole screen or just a portion of the action. These actions were previously only accessible in the macOS Grab utility.

If you choose to capture a window, hover your mouse cursor over it: The window will be highlighted and your cursor will change to a camera. Simply click your mouse button to take the capture.

If you’re capturing a selected portion of the screen, use the mouse cursor crosshairs to select the area you want to capture. When you take a screen recording, a button will appear in the menu bar for you to click when you’re ready to end the recording.

You can click the rightmost button on the palette to reveal an additional menu of options for controlling other variables, like where you want your captures to be saved (Desktop, Documents, Clipboard, and so on) and whether to include a 5 or 10-second delay before the capture takes place, giving you time to get your screen in order.

As you’d expect, unchecking the Show Mouse Pointer option ensures the mouse cursor doesn’t appear in your capture. The Show Floating Thumbnail option takes a little more explaining.

When you take a screenshot or screen recording in Mojave, a floating thumbnail appears in the bottom corner of the screen, just like it does when you take a screenshot on an iOS device running iOS 11 or later.

Clicking on the thumbnail opens the capture in a window, which includes image Markup tools, or a clip trimming option in the case of recordings, as well as options to share the image/recording or delete it if it didn’t turn out like you wanted.

If you’re taking multiple screenshots in sequence, you probably won’t want the floating thumbnail showing up in subsequent captures, which is why the option to turn it off exists.

For additional tips on controlling the behavior of screenshots using keyboard shortcuts, click here.

Related Roundup: macOS MojaveDiscuss this article in our forums

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Rob Joyce, Senior Advisor for Cybersecurity Strategy at the NSA, is the latest official to question the accuracy of Bloomberg Businessweek’s bombshell “The Big Hack” report about Chinese spies compromising the U.S. tech supply chain.

“I have pretty good understanding about what we’re worried about and what we’re working on from my position. I don’t see it,” said Joyce, speaking at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce cyber summit in Washington, D.C. today, according to a subscriber-only Politico report viewed by MacRumors.

“I’ve got all sorts of commercial industry freaking out and just losing their minds about this concern, and nobody’s found anything,” Joyce added.

Joyce, a former White House cybersecurity coordinator, noted that all of the companies named in the Bloomberg Businessweek report have issued strong denials, including Apple, Amazon, and Supermicro. He said those companies would “suffer a world of hurt” if regulators later determine that they lied.

Apple’s statement read in part:

On this we can be very clear: Apple has never found malicious chips, “hardware manipulations” or vulnerabilities purposely planted in any server. Apple never had any contact with the FBI or any other agency about such an incident. We are not aware of any investigation by the FBI, nor are our contacts in law enforcement.

Bloomberg Businessweek, citing 17 unnamed sources, claimed that Chinese spies planted tiny chips the size of a pencil tip on server motherboards manufactured by Supermicro at its Chinese factories. The servers were then sold to companies such as Apple and Amazon for use in their respective data centers.

An unnamed government official cited in the report said China’s goal was “long-term access to high-value corporate secrets and sensitive government networks,” but no customer data is known to have been stolen.

The report claimed that Apple discovered the suspicious chips on the motherboards around May 2015, after detecting odd network activity and firmware problems. Two senior Apple insiders were cited as saying the company reported the incident to the FBI, but kept details about what it had detected tightly held.

Apple dropped Supermicro as a supplier in 2016, a decision the company said it made for reasons unrelated to “The Big Hack” story.

Joyce is far from the only source to question the accuracy of the Bloomberg Businessweek report. Both the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.K.’s national cyber security agency have said they have “no reason to doubt” Apple’s denial of the story, while the FBI is said to be unaware of the hack.

“We’re just befuddled,” said Joyce. He added that he had “grave concerns about where this has taken us,” according to Politico. “I worry that we’re chasing shadows right now. I worry about the distraction that it is causing.”

In related news, Reuters reports that U.S. Senator John Thune has sent letters to the CEOs of Apple, Amazon, and Supermicro with questions about the allegations. U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Richard Blumenthal also sent a joint letter to Supermicro CEO Charles Liang with similar questions.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tags: China, Politico, The Big HackDiscuss this article in our forums

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Navigation app Waze today announced the nationwide rollout of Waze Carpool [Direct Link], a separate app that is specifically dedicated to allowing users to pick up rides with other passengers on the same route. Waze Carpool launched as a test in the Bay Area in 2016 and slowly expanded to additional states throughout the years, but this marks the first wide availability of the service (via The Verge).

Waze says it uses the original app’s routing technology to help commuters find the fastest routes that they can carpool in, filling empty seats in a vehicle and reducing the amount of vehicles on the road. Waze Carpool offers the “best match” for riders and drivers, like those closest to a preferred route or a co-worker on the same shift.

These matches will be at the top of the app, as well as information on the driver or rider’s rating, amount of rides, friends, and job information. Users can customize search preference for drivers or co-riders, including toggles for the same gender only or coworkers only.

The Verge explains that Waze Carpool differs from Uber and Lyft’s own carpool apps because drivers are paired with riders “with nearly identical commutes based on home and work addresses.” Drivers and riders are also limited to two rides per day, meaning that Waze Carpool is not a money-making service for drivers.

In an effort to grow the service, Waze is partnering with companies like Amazon and other businesses.

Now that it’s nationwide, Waze Carpool will be leaning on partnerships with other tech companies in order to scale rapidly. Starting on October 10th, Waze Carpool says it will be available at 50 Amazon Fulfillment Center sites, allowing Amazon employees to carpool to work together. The company is also partnering with cities, businesses, transit agencies, and civic organizations as it seeks to grow its presence.

Last month, Waze for iOS was updated with support for CarPlay on devices running iOS 12. With CarPlay support, iPhone users who prefer to use Waze for mapping purposes can do so through the CarPlay interface, something that was not possible with iOS 11.

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Introduced as a Kickstarter project in 2017, Astropad’s Luna Display adapter turns any iPad into a second wireless display for the Mac.

The Astropad software alone is designed to mirror the Mac’s display to an iPad, while the Luna Display, which plugs into a Mac using Mini DisplayPort or USB-C, extends the Mac display instead of mirroring it.

Once Luna Display is plugged into a Mac and the Luna Display software has been downloaded, a connected iPad serves as an extension of the Mac, letting Mac content be accessed directly from an iPad.

Astropad began taking pre-orders for Luna Display back in July, and with those orders fulfilled, the adapter is now widely available and can be purchased from the Luna Display website for $79.99.Discuss this article in our forums

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Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced over two years ago in March of 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari.

The new Safari Technology Preview update is available for macOS Mojave, the newest version of the Mac operating system that was released to the public in September, and macOS High Sierra.

The Safari Technology Preview update is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store to anyone who has downloaded the browser. Full release notes for the update are available on the Safari Technology Preview website.

Apple’s aim with Safari Technology Preview is to gather feedback from developers and users on its browser development process. Safari Technology Preview can run side-by-side with the existing Safari browser and while designed for developers, it does not require a developer account to download.Discuss this article in our forums

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Microsoft has rolled out to Windows Insiders an update that it claims isolates and fixes the data deletion bug that first appeared for some Windows 10 users in the October 2018 Update. In its announcement, Microsoft reiterated that the number of users affected by this flaw was small, but that due to its severity, the company would be offering free support in its retail stores and through the Microsoft Support channel for anyone who needed assistance in updating to the patched version of Windows.

The Windows 10 October 2018 update began rolling out to Windows users all over the world on October 2 alongside the debut of a number of new Microsoft Surface devices at a show in New York. However, just a few days later, Microsoft clawed it back, stating that rare bug seemed to be causing some users to lose data on their systems after the update. The flaw that caused that bug has now been discovered and patched out, Microsoft claims, announcing that the rollout of the OS update will now continue with the patch in place.

“We have fully investigated all reports of data loss, identified and fixed all known issues in the update, and conducted internal validation,” Microsoft said in a blog post, highlighting that very few people were affected by the bug in the first place. It claimed that one one-hundredth of one percent of those who had installed the Windows 10 October 2018 update had been affected.

While this is positive news, Microsoft isn’t jumping back into the update rollout with both feet just yet. To start with, it’s releasing this new patch to Windows Insiders to make sure that it doesn’t have any problematic effects of its own before it releases it to the wider Windows user base.

The reason for the original file deletion appears to involve a problem with Windows 10’s Known Folder Redirection. During the last major Windows 10 update back in April, Microsoft discovered that some users often had duplicates of their data after updating, so in the October update, Microsoft endeavored to delete those copies should they reappear. Unfortunately, it appears that the deletion was overzealous for some and deleted the original data instead. As ZDNet reports, the issue also appeared for some when using OneDrive’s Auto Save feature.

That should no longer be the case moving forward, although considering the seriousness of the bug, it may be worth waiting a few days to see how the wider user base responds to the patch before updating if you’re at all concerned.

Editors’ Recommendations

Did the Windows October 2018 update delete your files? Microsoft can help

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All-in one systems are at their best when they have everything you need in a compact, attractive package with plenty of screen detail and real estate for any computing task you require. With such demands, you often need to pay for the privilege, but both Microsoft and Apple have some great hardware options for the discerning all-in-one buyer. To find out who does it best, we pitted the Surface Studio 2 vs. iMac Pro in a classic head to head.

For a look at some other great all-in-ones, check the round-up up of our favorites.

Design

Despite both being all-in-one systems, the approach to where the real meat of the hardware is located is slightly different in both the Surface Studio 2 and iMac Pro. Where the iMac Pro utilizes a thin, all-aluminum frame at its base and packs all of its processing and storage capabilities behind its 27-inch screen, the Surface Studio 2 has a base station at the bottom of its hinge which houses most of its powerful components. That means its display is thinner, although the iMac’s stand is arguably the more minimalist of the two.

With the more robust base on the Surface Studio 2 and a lighter display, Microsoft is able to offer great versatility in the orientation of the device. Using its “zero-gravity” hinge, the Surface Studio 2 can be effortlessly moved from a standard, upright display, to something more akin to a desk-mounted tablet, making it much easier to use accessories like the Surface Pen or Surface Dial to interact with on screen elements. The iMac Pro can change its tilt angle, but it doesn’t feature any kind of fold-flat functionality.

Regardless of orientation, both designs are attractive with clean lines and silver accenting the black, rounded-corner bezels of the display. They’re a far cry from the bezel-free laptop and desktop displays which are becoming more commonplace in other market sectors, but space restrictions in all-in-one designs make that much harder to achieve.

The port selection between the two is far more varied, though. The Surface Studio 2 has four USB-A 3.0 ports, a full-size SDXC card reader, a headphone jack, and a Gigabit Ethernet port. The iMac Pro, on the other hand, has four USB-A 3.0 ports, as well as four USB-C ports, all of which support the high-speed Thunderbolt 3 standard and are equally compatible with USB 3.1. It also comes with a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, an SDXC card reader, and 10-gigabit Ethernet.

Performance

Both systems sport powerful hardware, but there are some stark differences in their options and pricing structures. The entry-level Surface Studio 2 starts at $3,500 and comes with a seventh-generation Intel Core i7-7820HQ quad-core CPU, 16GB of RAM, a terabyte of SSD storage space, and a GTX 1060 graphics chip with 6GB of GDDR5 memory. That’s a powerful configuration, but there are even greater options. You can double the RAM, double the storage, and swap out the GPU for a GTX 1070 for more graphical power. The top-tier model with all the bells and whistles is priced at $4,700.

The iMac Pro has a much higher starting price point at $5,000, but comes with a more impressive array of hardware. It sports an eight-core Intel Xeon W-2140B CPU, with 32GB of RAM, an AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 graphics card, and a terabyte of SSD storage. That’s more powerful than even the top-specification of the Surface Pro, but it is more expensive, too. From there the only limit is how much you want to spend. Options include faster processors with more cores (up to 18), up to four times the memory, a Radeon Pro Vega 64 GPU with double the GPU memory, and up to 4TB of solid state storage.

Such a maxed-out configuration comes with a price tag in excess of $13,000.

Each system, regardless of configuration, has its own single display choice. With the Surface Studio 2, you get a 28-inch 4,500 x 3,000 resolution PixelSense screen, which is roughly specced the same as the first-generation Surface Studio. However, this one gets much brighter and has greater contrast, so should have more depth in its image. It uses the 3:2 aspect ratio, so is better for web browsing and productivity, though less desirable for media viewing.

That’s almost the opposite of the iMac Pro’s display, which is both higher-resolution and in a more traditional 16:9 aspect ratio. It’s one of Apple’s “5K” retina displays with a resolution of 5,120 x 2,880. Its brightness is comparable to the Surface Studio 2’s at 500 nits, though it is a little smaller at 27-inches diagonally.

Operating system

As much as the design and hardware of these two systems is important, the core of the debate between these two all-in-ones is whether you want a Windows or MacOS environment. There are ways to have both, but most will opt for either platform with a notable preference for it over the alternative. If you’re on the fence, there are some factors to consider.

The latest version of MacOS, Mojave, pairs well with existing Apple products like iPhones and iPads, and can take advantage of MacOS exclusive apps like Logic Pro X and Final Cut Pro X, both of which can be purchased with an iMac Pro as part of a bundle. The Surface Studio 2 has the advantages of the latest version of Windows 10, which means its compatible with a wider range of software, including both productivity software and games.

Although the Surface Studio 2’s hardware is weaker than the iMac Pro’s in certain configurations, it is a perfectly viable gaming machine. That’s not exactly what it was designed for, but the gaming ecosystem is far more robust on Windows and if it’s something you plan to do when you aren’t using the Surface Studio 2’s more creative features, it’s a far better platform for doing so on than the iMac Pro.

What are you willing to pay?

It’s likely that your choice of MacOS or Windows will be a huge deciding factor in which all-in-one you opt for, but outside of that decades-long debate, cost is the biggest factor here. The iMac Pro is unarguably the more powerful machine, even with its base configuration. It has more cores and more threads on its CPU, more powerful graphics chips, more memory, and greater storage capacities. But all of it comes at a cost.

You can buy the most powerful Surface Studio 2 for less than the base model iMac Pro, and if you don’t need that much memory or graphical capability, you can save a lot by opting for the more modest configurations.

If you do decide to go with the iMac Pro, consider that we may see a refresh before the end of the year, so it may be worth holding out a few more months to find it that prediction holds true.

Editors’ Recommendations

The best all-in-one computers of 2018

The best PS1 games of all time

The best GameCube games of all time

The best N64 games of all time

Is Apple planning an all-Mac keynote later this fall?

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There are a ton of cases out there for the Pixel 3 and 3 XL, but year after year, one company continues to stand above just about everyone else. That company is Spigen, and once again, we’ve got a plethora of excellent case options for Google’s latest and greatest. Without further ado, here’s the full lineup!

Durable and slim

Spigen Thin Fit 360

The Thin Fit 360 offers a great balance of 360-degree protection while adding hardly any bulk to your new Pixel 3 / 3 XL. There are precise cutouts for the fingerprint sensor, camera, and buttons, and you can still wirelessly charge the phone without having to take the case off.

$30 at Amazon (Pixel 3) and $35 at Amazon (Pixel 3 XL)

Built like a tank

Spigen Tough Armor

Okay with adding some bulk to get even more coverage? That’s where the Tough Armor comes into play. The dual-layer design is built to withstand just about anything you throw at it, and the kickstand is great for hands-free video watching.

$17 at Amazon (Pixel 3) and $17 at Amazon (Pixel 3 XL)

Best of both worlds

Spigen Slim Armor

Spigen’s Slim Armor case offers the best of both words from the previous two cases. It’s got a slimmer profile than the Tough Armor but still detains a durable dual-layer design and built-in kickstand. It really is the complete package.

$35 at Spigen (Pixel 3) and $40 at Spigen (Pixel 3 XL)

A clear winner

Spigen Slim Armor Crystal

The Pixel 3 is a good-looking phone, so it’d be a shame to completely hide it in a case. With the Slim Armor Crystal, you can see the entirety of your Pixel 3 while still giving it ample protection. There’s a shock-absorbent bumper, slim frame, and support for wireless charging through the case.

$40 at Spigen (Pixel 3) and $45 at Spigen (Pixel 3 XL)

Affordable, reliable

Spigen Rugged Armor

The Rugged Armor is a great choice if you want to keep your Pixel 3 safe without spending too much cash. The carbon fiber finish looks downright awesome, and Spigen’s Air Cushion Technology is packed into all four corners to protect against all sorts of impacts and drops.

$13 at Amazon (Pixel 3) and $13 at Amazon (Pixel 3 XL)

Simply fantastic

Spigen Neo Hybrid

The Spigen Neo Hybrid is undoubtedly one of the best Pixel 3 cases you can buy. It strikes a near-perfect balance of durability, good looks, and slimness. For a deeper look, check out our review of it for the Pixel 2!

$14 at Amazon (Pixel 3) and $14 at Amazon (Pixel 3 XL)

It’s got everything

Spigen Ultra Hybrid S

Perhaps one of the more interesting cases on this list is the Ultra Hybrid S. You get a nice clear design so you can still see your Pixel 3, shock-absorbent bumpers, and a kickstand on the back to prop your phone up just about anywhere.

$14 at Amazon (Pixel 3) and $14 at Amazon (Pixel 3 XL)

Great value

Spigen Liquid Crystal

If you want a more basic case that’s built well but will also help you stay on a budget, the Spigen Liquid Crystal is the one to get. It adds very little bulk, features Spigen’s excellent Air Cushion Technology, and has precise cutouts for everything. Get a closer look by reading our review of the case for the Pixel 2!

$12 at Amazon (Pixel 3) and $12 at Amazon (Pixel 3 XL)

Just the basics

Spigen Thin Fit

Last not but least, the Spigen Thin Fit is another affordable case that keeps the Pixel 3 nice and slim while offering great protection on the sides and back. The top and bottom of the phone are left exposed unlike the Thin Fit 360, but this does give you a lower price and a thinner body.

$12 at Amazon (Pixel 3) and $12 at Amazon (Pixel 3 XL)

As you can see, Spigen has a case for pretty much everyone no matter your taste or preference. My personal favorite is the Neo Hybrid as it offers one of the best combos of style and protection, but whether you’re in the market for something a little bulkier, prefer a clear case, or anything else, you’ve got a lot to choose from here.

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As part of its daily deals, Amazon has the 512GB unlocked Samsung Galaxy Note 9 bundled with a Gear S3 for $1,249.99. Other retailers, like B&H and Samsung are offering just the phone for this price, meaning that you are getting Samsung’s latest smartwatch at no cost. On its own, the Gear S3 Frontier sells for $250 at Samsung, making today’s bundle one that you won’t want to miss out on.

This is an unlocked Galaxy Note 9, meaning you’ll be able to take your current SIM card and stick it in to use without many issues. It’s the maxed out 512GB option, which is just an insane amount of storage to have on your phone, and allows you to keep your movies, music, and more stored on the phone to take full advantage of the massive 6.4-inch display. This bundle deal is available on both the Lavender Purple and Ocean Blue variants of the device, and keep in mind that the offer is good for today only.